On a cold January day in 1776, a 47-page pamphlet written by a recently arrived English immigrant changed the course of human history. Thomas Paine's Common Sense didn't invent the idea of American independence — it made the idea feel inevitable.

Paine wrote for farmers, shopkeepers, and tradespeople — not lawyers or philosophers. He asked simple questions that demanded honest answers. Can an island govern a continent? Should a man born into a crown have power over millions who never chose him?

Within three months, 150,000 copies circulated among 2.5 million colonists. Adjusted for today, that's 20 million copies — without the internet. The pamphlet spread because neighbors handed it to neighbors and said: read this.

This postcard is a modern civic pamphlet. It arrives at every door — not because you asked, but because civic education belongs to everyone. The businesses on the other side are your neighbors. They believe an informed community is a stronger one.